"According to the results of the negotiations just held between the two sides, our side has amended the first requirement to read: France declares its withdrawal from the war and announces the dissolution of the treaty signed with Great Britain. Without the dissolution of the current French government, France will continue to exist as an independent state. Taking the current military demarcation line between the German and French armies as the boundary, the northern and northwestern parts of France that the German army had occupied were assigned to German occupation, and the lives and property of the original French residents were guaranteed at the same time; The area south of the demarcation line is controlled by the French government. Surrender warships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons and gradually transfer to our country all the overseas colonies of France. ”

Falkenhein made the first summary, and finally added:

"This is the bottom line for us to continue negotiations, and if your country still can't agree to such concessions, we will immediately declare the negotiations broken!"

Foch's face was still ugly, but Messimi spoke, "This request is still very harsh for our country, we need to discuss it well and report it to our government." Honorable Marshal, please give us one day to make a decision, and then continue our armistice negotiations tomorrow morning, is it okay? ”

"Of course, I hope that your government will give us some consideration for our request. Tomorrow you will only have to tell us to agree or not to agree, and the fate of France is now entirely in your own hands! ”

After Falkenhein finished speaking, Foch took the lead in getting up, and then all the French delegates left the hall in silence.

After the departure of the French, the German generals mostly whispered discussions, but most of the people here came as spectators, and the generals were still reluctant to get too involved in politics.

Chen Tian and Falkenhein walked out of the venue side by side, and the air after the rain was exceptionally fresh, but the ground looked a little muddy.

"The French won't refuse our demands, right?" Chen Tian thought this negotiation was really interesting, and the emperor didn't even send a professional politician to grind with the French, but fortunately, the chief of the general staff also behaved well.

Falkenhain did not answer this question directly, "Before I came, the emperor had already told me the specific requirements and the bottom line, and in fact there were not many things I could decide. From the very beginning of the war, the Emperor was determined to eliminate the threat of this land power from our west. It no longer matters whether the French accept it or not, and what cannot be obtained at the negotiating table must be resolved by war, which has already been fought to this extent, and no German will object to giving France a final blow. ”

Chen Tian nodded, it seems that the emperor does not mind the continuation of the war, presumably the German people do not mind either, after all, the battle has only been fought for three and a half months, and the enthusiasm of the dominant side for the war is still very high.

At this time, the convoy of the French disappeared from sight as soon as it smoked, and it seemed that they were in a hurry to return for a small meeting.

"The forward position of the 3rd Army is 2 kilometers from here, Your Royal Highness, generals, let's go and inspect the situation there! By the way, condolences to our brave soldiers, they are the heroes of victory! Falkenhayne turned around and said that Chen Tian and the others were naturally in favor. According to the prior arrangement, they were to spend the night in General Hausen's 3rd Army, after all, it was almost impossible to end the negotiations in one day.

The generals got into the car in twos and threes, and the expressions on their faces were very relaxed.

"Did the British react?" Chentian naturally sat in Falkenhein's car.

"After the French demanded an armistice, they seemed to have the intention of suing for peace!" Falkenhein's tone did not sound like a sign of hope for peace talks between Germany and Britain, "The British have been the bosses of the seas for many years, and it does not seem so easy to get them to submit." They just want reconciliation, but the emperor wants them to cut themselves off! ”

"Hand over all the ships? Or is it a land reparation? Chen Tian felt that the word "self-cutting weapon" was very interesting, as if he wanted the British to practice the Sunflower Treasure Book.

"It's all the shipyards! Under our supervision, shipyards of a certain size will be demolished, and only small shipyards for the construction of fishing boats will remain, and in the future all cargo ships and warships will have to be ordered from our country, and at the same time the number and tonnage of their warships will be limited! ”

Like Falkenhayne, Chen Tian also felt that this requirement was really in place, and it was simply to cut off the lifeblood of the British.

"His Majesty's method is really perfect, so that the British can only nest on the island and be fishermen!"

"The shipyards of the British colonies are subject to this restriction!" Although Falkenhain did not say it explicitly, the British would certainly not accept such harsh conditions.

"The British overhauled the coastal fortresses, coupled with a large number of army troops, compared to the French, who were already defeated, the British still had nothing to fear!" Chen Tian was a little depressed, "If it weren't for the constant delivery of grain by American ships to the British Isles, the siege of the navy would have been enough to starve many British troops to death on the island in a few years." But a few years seems like too long! ”

"I heard that the British are ready to transfer the royal family, the government and a great deal of wealth to Canada! But it's just hearsay, haha! ”

The wealth of the British Empire is always intriguing, so there is a lot of gossip about this, but at the moment the spies on all sides have not received definite information, and judging from the current situation, it is time for the British to leave a way out for themselves.

"Gold and treasures of the British Empire?" Chen Tian didn't know whether to feel glad or not, it was the Kaiser's previous attitude towards Britain that made the British not immediately feel the threat of Germany landing in England after losing the main force of the fleet, and there was even hope for peace between the two countries, so the British royal family and government did not plan to go into exile for a long time, and it was not until the Kaiser issued the order of "destroying France in January and landing in England in January and a half" that the British realized the seriousness of the matter.

"The amount of wealth accumulated by this huge empire over the centuries must be staggering, and if we have this wealth in Germany, the national strength and military strength will be even stronger, and it will probably not be a problem to build hundreds of battleships, perhaps this is also one of the reasons why His Majesty the Emperor insists on landing in England!" By the time Falkenhain said this, Chentian's mind had already flown to the distant British Isles, and perhaps the British were racking their brains to figure out how to transport the gold.

Chen Tian only guessed half right, someone was racking his brains, but he was not in the British Isles, but in Washington, USA.

In his more than a month in the United States, Churchill traveled around, not only holding talks with many US congressmen, but also meeting US President Wilson twice. However, to his disappointment, due to the great superiority of Germany in the war, and the fact that the German Navy had always searched American ships first and then took corresponding measures in the naval blockade, so far no American had been killed in the attack of the German Navy, and although many American ships were searched and sunk, the Germans produced evidence that they had violated the Neutrality Act, which was also confirmed by the American captains, so except for a few shipowners whose interests were damaged but at the expense, the willingness of the Americans to enter the war was generally low. He was even more pessimistic about whether he would be able to achieve victory after entering the war.

However, after France announced armistice negotiations with Germany, US President Wilson took the initiative to summon Churchill on his own initiative.

"Dear Mr. President, it's a pleasure to see you again!" Churchill seemed to smell his chance, and Wilson seemed to be much kinder this time.

"Ah, Mr. Churchill, have you wandered around all this time? What do you think of us in the United States? ”

Churchill pondered what the other party meant: "Very good, your economy is very developed, the industrial and shipbuilding industries are very good, and the people seem to be very rich, which is really enviable!" ”

"Thanks for the compliment! My Government deeply regrets the imminent withdrawal of your country's most loyal French ally from the war! I am afraid that in the future, in Europe, your country will have to face the attack of Germany, Austria, Russia, Turkey and other allies alone! Wilson said with great regret.

Churchill cursed in his heart at these hypocritical Americans, who had already made a lot of pounds from Britain in the months before the war, a deal that could even be described as windfall profits.

"Yes! In view of the fact that the Germans did not stop at all, our country will continue to fight, believing that victory will be on the side of justice! But Britain will certainly not be the last target of the Germans, and they will also reach out to Africa, Asia, and even the Americas, until the whole world is included in their sphere of influence! With all due respect, perhaps one day, the United States will face a more powerful Allies on its own, as we have done in the United Kingdom. But your country can compromise with Germany and accept the world they dominate! ”

"No, no, no, Mr. Churchill. We, the United States, have always pursued neutrality and will never accept the leadership of others! Again, we don't want to see a country or an alliance pose a threat to the United States! We believe that all European countries have their own democracy and freedom, and Germany should not forcefully include other European countries in its sphere of influence! ”

More precisely, Wilson and the United States did not want to see a united Europe, but once France surrendered, most of Europe would be under the control of the Central Powers, led by Germany. In terms of the strength of the United States, it is unrealistic to confront the whole of Europe, not to mention that the United States has far fewer colonies than the European countries.

"Having lost naval superiority, it will be difficult for Britain to confront most of the European continent. I think that your country, for the sake of future development, should fight together with our country against the evil allies, and if we can win, we will definitely be able to divide up the colonies of Germany and Austria after the war! Churchill once again threw out the colonies as a temptation, but until the defeat of the Allies, this temptation was a pure empty promise.

"Oh, my dear Mr. Churchill, you still don't understand what I mean! We in the United States are peace-loving countries, and neither I nor my people want to get involved in your war, but in view of the long-standing friendly relations and the interests of our two countries, we can provide you with a large amount of war materials, and even build warships for your country! "In fact, Wilson and the U.S. government only see profits, and they will not risk fighting a war with little or no chance of winning.

"Free?" As soon as Churchill's words came out, he found that this question was too idiotic, how could there be a lunch in the world that did not cost money, let alone the Americans standing in front of him.

"Of course not, the manufacture of weapons also requires the labor of workers and primitive resources!" In the eyes of Wilson and the Americans, Britain was a landowner with large colonies and developed maritime trade, and even if their homeland was blockaded, the money that flowed into British accounts every day was staggering.

"Then I'm afraid that your country's so-called support will not help! Our country has spent a lot of money on the purchase of weapons and supplies from your country, and the government's funds are already stretched! Churchill was already disappointed by Wilson's claim that the United States would not enter the war, and now he behaved more like a profiteer.

"We have also taken this situation into account, so that your country can lease and sell the land, ports and military bases of the colonies in exchange for supplies from our country."

Wilson laughed, he was not only a profiteer, but also a scoundrel who took advantage of the fire.

Churchill thought for a moment, in the current situation, it is better to be slaughtered by the Americans than to be destroyed by the Germans, "But even if we exchange the way you said for weapons, we will not be able to transport them to the British mainland!" You know the tight blockade of the Germans! ”

"But what if we sell the entire fleet to you?"

"Oh my God! How much does that cost? "Churchill sweated a little, and the Americans' appetite was really great, and they were not afraid to provoke the Germans for the sake of profit.

"At the price of 50 million pounds for a dreadnought, 20 million pounds for an armored battleship, 10 million pounds for a heavy cruiser, 6 million pounds for a light cruiser, and 3 million pounds for a destroyer, a strong fleet only needs 1 billion pounds!" In Wilson's view, with the shipbuilding industry of the United States, it does not take much time to rebuild a fleet, and all the United States lacks now is overseas colonies.

"£1 billion!" Although Churchill was mentally prepared, he was taken aback by Wilson's offer. You know, a George V-class battleship cost just over £2 million, and the yet-to-be-finished Elizabeth-class battleship is planned to cost just over £2.5 million. It soon dawned on him that the Americans wanted not money, but British colonies. As far as he knows, the US president has strong expansionist tendencies, and in order to establish and consolidate the absolute control of the United States in Central America and the Caribbean and over the Panama Canal, the United States has threatened, interfered, controlled and even fought against Mexico, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, etc.; Wilson was resolutely opposed to the use of revolutionary means to eliminate the ills of capitalism, opposed women's suffrage, and had strong racist tendencies towards blacks.

"I will convey your opinion to our king and government, but I would like to warn you that the Germans are likely to be angry because of this, and that it is better for your country to take the initiative to join in the just war against the evil alliance than to wait for Germany to declare war on you!"

"No, Mr. Churchill. We are supporting countries that have a vital stake in our defence in a non-warlike way, and a defeat for Britain is something we never want to see! As for the Germans, I believe that they will not go to war against our country because of this, and our country will give them some sweetness appropriately, and the stupid Germans will easily settle it! Wilson said confidently.